


fandomfiction: star trek tos

by rhapsobee



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Multi, POV Second Person, Short Chapters, Star Trek: TOS, because I'm a lazy little fuck, that sounds weird but i like it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-26
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-22 16:53:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 7,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2514908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rhapsobee/pseuds/rhapsobee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>you find yourself somehow transported into the universe of star trek, and on the federation starship enterprise. chaos ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the whole 'fandomfiction' was gonna be a series of 2nd person POV reader-insert shenanigans in different story universes, but i got attached to the star trek one so its gonna be a long haul here sorry

You raise your head, blinking in the sudden brightness. You don't remember falling to the floor, but you must've, because, well, here you are, on the floor. As your shaken eyes adjust to the spotlights overhead, you begin to wonder exactly where "here" is. You don't have to wonder for long, because at that moment a voice a ways in front of you says, "Chief Engineer Scott to bridge. There's been a, uh, transporter malfunction, but I've never seen the likes of this one. You better come down here... and maybe bring security."

_Scotty?_

You sit up with a start, and then promptly thump back down again. Is the room spinning? You groan and flop an arm over your eyes, which are troubled by the powerful lights. There is a small 'beep', and the voice speaks again: "Scratch that security team, bring me medical. I think we'll need McCoy down here."

_McCoy._

You're starting to freak out a little (as would be reasonable for anyone else in this situation), and you try and stand up this time. Your vision blurs even more, but before you can hit the floor again, a pair of arms gently catch you, and the voice tells you to lie still. Normally (though there was really nothing at all about this situation that was normal), this would cause you to panic even more, but the odd familiarity of the voice, not to mention the slightly charming accent, reassure you, and you obediently lie still again. Soon, more voices enter the room, apparently inquiring as to who you are. You hear the word 'sedative' and see one of the figures begin to walk towards you.

Alarmed, you try to run (or at least scoot) away from the approaching man in blue, but he hits you with a hypo and you are out within seconds.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these aren't even chapters they're just like little sneak peeks  
> anyhoo here's peek #2

_beep beep. beep beep._

You awake on a surface that's cushioned, but hard, and it hurts your back. The little that you can see of your surroundings is foreign, yet oddly familiar. Your head still hurts, and your vision is still blurry, but you're feeling a smidge better, so you try and sit up again, only to find that you have restraints around your forearms and across your abdomen. The man in blue, seeing that you're awake, comes over with a little remote thingy and, before he can do anything, you kick him in the face and struggle to free your upper body. He recovers quickly from the blow, however, and administers another sedative. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you seem to be fainting an awful lot; you should get that looked into.

_beep beep. beep beep._

You wake up (again), this time with straps on your legs as well. On the slightly brighter side, your vision is finally clearing.

You see two men standing over you now. The shorter one takes out his remote thingy and it becomes apparent to you that it's meant for scanning you, not for inflicting harm, as you’d initially assumed (well, what were you supposed to think? Being sedated, then waking up strapped to a bed? Of course you thought they had ill will towards you). The shorter man bends over and maybe he's asking about how you're feeling or why you kicked him or something, but all you can hear is your heart pounding in your ears. This seems to concern him, and he moves out of your line of sight to check the monitor, but you know what you saw, and you are now fairly certain that you've completely lost your mind.

You try to speak, but only squeak.

_Gah._

_If at first you don’t succeed…._

"Doc-tor?"

The shorter man--the doctor-- turns back around and smiles.

"Yes, I'm a doctor," he says soothingly. "I won't harm you, I'm here to help. Who are you?"

His face comes clearly into focus, and now you're sure, beyond any shadow of doubt, that you're either mad or dreaming, and, unfortunately, the latter doesn't seem likely.

"Doctor, I advise that we wait until the captain is present to question the... patient." The taller man steps forward.

His ears are pointed, his eyebrows slant up in the oddest fashion, and you know exactly who he is. This is too much for you to bear, and you pass out again, this time without the aid of a tranquilizer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the last minichapter, i swear.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you have a chat with the doctor.

_beep beep. beep beep._

When you wake (for good this time, you hope), you see that another man has been added to the group at your bedside. You recognize him as well, and you have to stifle a shout of laughter. Fright aside, you’re finding your situation hilarious, if impossible. You look up again and you see Kirk, Spock, and McCoy deep in conversation, occasionally glancing down at you with concern. Well, the Vulcan looks more intrigued than concerned. Still.

"--and we've no idea how they got into the transporter room?"

"No, Captain. They were nearly unconscious when Dr. McCoy found them--”

“--and likely in shock, I think,” Bones interrupts, shooting an annoyed glance at Spock. “Probably a concussion too, but it’s a little hard to tell."

You are in shock, all right, but the terror is fading. Taking the bizarre circumstances in stride, you say, "Very astute, Bones."

Now it's the doctor’s turn to be in shock.

The captain laughs, and Spock raises an eyebrow.

You grin again, and say it at the same time he does:

“Fascinating.”

Their amusement vanishes. Kirk looks unsettled.

“Who are you? How did you get on my ship? What--”

“Jim,” Bones interjects, “this interrogation, or whatever it is you want, can’t it wait?”

"Bones, I want answers--"

"And I want to make sure that my patient is in a stable physical condition before you ask too much of them."

“Thanks, Doc,” you say, not without a shade of sarcasm.

He turns back to you and cautiously unfastens your restraints.

"Just don't kick me in the face again."

"Oh yeah. Sorry about that."

You sit up slowly, and survey your surroundings.

It’s plain to see from looking around that you're in sickbay.

You’re surrounded by advanced, if cheesy-looking monitors and equipment.

The medcentre of the starship Enterprise.

_This is insane._

_You’re insane._

_Aren’t you?_

Bones --oh god, you’re thinking about him as though he’s real-- interrupts your thoughts.

“Perhaps you two ought to return to your regular duties. No offense, but you’re sort of in the way of--”

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten, doctor, but as I am the chief science officer, duty requires that I stay to further investigate recent phenomena--”

“Damnit, Spock, you’ve--”

“That’s quite enough, both of you. Mr. Spock, you will return to the bridge. Bones, try to find out what happened. I’m going to have a word with Mr. Scott to see if he’s gotten any further with figuring out what happened to the transporter.”

Spock heads out of the room. After nodding farewell to the pair of you, the captain follows him out the door, leaving Dr. McCoy to deal with you.

"How's your head?"

"Fine", you say, even though it isn't.

“Hmph.”

"Where am I?" you ask, even though you know.

"You're in a safe place," he says, clearly still concerned about your health, physical and mental.

You give a huff of frustration.

"My mind's not addled, and I won't attack you again. Where am I? I'd ask how I got here, but you don't know that either, I guess."

"Well, uh, you're right about that. We don't know how you got on board, and if you don't either... As to where you are, you're on the Federation Starship Enterprise."

_Ha. Yeah right._

_Could you be?_

"So what now? Am I in trouble? What are you going to do with me, since I'm not supposed to be on board?"

"As soon as we figure out how you got on board, that’ll will be decided. There's no trouble, unless you were planning on causing any."

You crack a smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."

He walks over to a table to look at something, and you quickly pinch your arm.

"Ow!"

Nope. Not dreaming...

He turns around. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah," you reply, and he resumes his work.

So is this like all those movies, or what? Are you inside the _show_?

"Um.... when is it, exactly?"

"What?"

"What's the, um, stardate?"

He tells you, and you freeze.

Wait.

That's after the last episode.

It's just a show. With actors, and sets, and plot lines that were written by someone else.

But the characters lived on?

That's some Pleasantville-level shit right there.

_This is bad_ , you think. _This means I don't know what's going to happen!_

_No, you reply, this is good. This means I can't screw anything up plot-wise!_

_Wanna bet?_

_...no._

Okay, now you've gone crazy inside of going crazy. Insane-ception.

_If you show a mirror to a mirror, where do the reflections end?_

_Stop talking to yourself._

_Okay._

McCoy walks back over to you, and, after looking at the monitor thing, says, "Alright, I don't think there's anything wrong with you now."

Are we sure about that?

"You can probably go."

"Go _where_?"

"Ah. You can stay here until we can get someone to escort you to your temporary quarters."

"That's all right, I know the way."

As soon as the words leave your mouth, you know you've messed up.

Bones raises an eyebrow. "Do you now?"

_Shit._

"What? No. I... It's just the, uh, shock talking."

"Hmph."

_Be careful._

That security guard is taking his own sweet time in getting here, so you decide to break the awkward silence.

“So… they call you Bones?”

_Oh, great icebreaker._

_Shut up._

_You’re super good at this._

“Shut up.”

The doctor looks at you with surprise. “I didn’t say anything!”

You realize that you’ve been speaking aloud parts of your “inner” dialogue arguments.

“Sorry, sir.”

“Oh, no need to call me ‘sir’. I’m just a simple country doctor.”

His easy, honest smile and the endearing southern twang in his voice agree with this statement, but the Starfleet uniform begs to differ.

“A simple country doctor… on a spaceship?”

He smiles. “Well, yes, I suppose so.”

After about a quarter hour of silence, a security guard comes to take you to your room.

McCoy calls after you as you leave: "I'll be needing you back here for an examination again tomorrow."

"Yay," you say, dryly.

He chuckles as you walk out with the red-shirted crewman.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you get to see the bridge of the ship. omg.

Your room isn't half bad. The bed is comfy, not to mention excellent for jumping up and down on (not that you tried, of course).  
You don't try to sleep at all (you got enough rest in sickbay), but rather you explore the room, and try to think of every detail you can remember about the Enterprise and her crew.   
A couple of hours later, you hear voices outside, followed by a knock on your door.   
"Come in," you say, and who should enter but Captain Kirk himself, accompanied by Doctor McCoy.  
You've kinda given up on trying to make sense of any of this, so you decide to just go with it.   
"Hello, Captain."  
He smiles. "Hello."  
"How long am I going to be here?"  
"We're a few days away from the nearest starbase, but we do have a mission that we were supposed to complete, so if you wouldn't mind staying just--"  
"What?"  
"It would delay our mission to return you to the base, or to wherever you're from, so we'd like to stay on our present course, if at all possible."  
"Oh, no, that's fine. I was just wondering what the mission was."  
Kirk exchanges an amused look with the doctor.   
"Our mission is to explore. We're going to be checking out a Class M planet in--"  
"Do I get to explore?"  
They look at each other again, with surprise this time.  
"What?" says McCoy. "What do you mean?"  
"The ship, I mean. Not the galaxy, though that'd be great. Do I get a tour of the ship, or something?" Glancing at Kirk, you add "sir" to the end of your question. This all may very well be a figment of your imagination, but he's still the captain.  
"Yes, you can get a tour of the Enterprise, if you wish. Bones? Are you terribly busy today?"  
"Well, Jim, the only patient that needs my attention is the one we're talking to, so I'll happily show them 'round."  
"Thank you. I'll be on the bridge if you need me."  
He exits the room, leaving you with McCoy again.  
"What part of the ship do you want to see?"  
"The bridge."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another kinda short chapter. sorry :|


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mccoy takes you to visit the bridge, and you meet scotty in the transporter room.

The elevator doors open, and you nearly burst out laughing in delight.

You're freaking out again, but this time it's less panicky and more joyful. You're actually standing on the bridge of the starship Enterprise. This is ridiculous, but rather fantastic.

You see the stars and planets and nebulae and galaxies all glittering in the void around the ship and have to catch your breath.

It's not a set.

You're in _space._

_Ack._

Chekov and Sulu are at the helm. You look to the walls and see Uhura at communications and Spock at the computer, as usual. Sitting in the captain's chair is, of course, Kirk.

You stand frozen. You're blocking McCoy’s way out of the lift, but you don't really care at the moment.

"Are you alright?”

Still struck dumb, you just turn to him with your mouth hanging open.

"Um...I think I'll take you back down to sickbay. This has been quite enough excitement for you for one day. Gotta make sure you rest your head."

You try to say "no, I'm fine", but it comes out sounding like "bloublagh".

Maybe he's got a point.

The doctor takes you down to sickbay, and leads you to an examination table. After scanning you again, he determines that you do indeed have a mild concussion (that explains a lot).

"So do you have anything for that, Doc?"

"Aside from painkillers, all I can prescribe is rest. Now, I strongly suggest that you go to your quarters."

"But it's boring!"

He raises an eyebrow. "Given your current physical state, I'd say that some 'boring' might do you good."

"Okay," you say, and like a good little patient, head off to the room you've been given.

_Wait._

_What the hell are you doing!?_

You could talk to the characters.

You can _interact with people in your favorite show._

Screw sleep, this is much more important!

"What's it like?"

Bones looks up. "Hm?"

"What's it like to be a member of the crew? What do you like about it?"

After pondering your question briefly, Bones says, “Well, I’m never bored.”

“Ha, I’m sure."

Your inflection seems to agitate him. He rolls onto his toes, and back onto his heels, then says, "Alright, you should to return to your quarters."

"But I had more--"

"I really think you should rest your head."

He seems in a hurry to get you out of there, so you follow his instructions and begin to walk back to your room. On the way, however, you hear again the voice you'd heard when you first arrived on the ship. You turn a corner and see a door slightly ajar, with raised voices wafting (not so gently) down the hall. Naturally, you go to investigate.

As the door slides open, you see two redshirts arguing in what is apparently the transporter room. The one with his back to you turns around as the door opens, and says suspiciously, “I thought that you were confined to sickbay.”

“No, Mr. Scott, it was merely _strongly advised_ that I that I stay in my new, if temporary, quarters.”

“Ah. So, while you’re here--hang on, how d’you know my name?”

“Um. I must’ve heard it while I was unconscious. Thank you for catching me, by the way. It probably saved me a concussion. Well, a worse concussion than I--never mind.”

Still looking a little wary, the engineer says, “All right then. While you’re here, do you mind tellin’ me how you got onto my ship?”

“Well, I would tell you if I could, but since I don’t actually know myself… I’ve just decided to give myself a little tour of the ship, since my ‘official’ one ended rather abruptly.”

Scotty gaze shifts to over your shoulder as the door behind you opens. “Looks like this one’s about to end rather abruptly as well.”

You turn around and see Kirk, Spock, Chekov, and three redshirts you don’t recognize enter the room. Kirk seems surprised to see you here, but says nothing. Spock merely raises an eyebrow. Chekov just looks slightly bewildered (but then, that might just be his regular face).

“....Keptin?”

“It’s fine.”

Turning to Scotty, he says, “Is the transporter still malfunctioning?” Glancing at you, he adds, “We do have a schedule to keep.”

“To tell the truth, Captain, I’m not sure that it even malfunctioned in the first place.”

Spock appears to be slightly perturbed by this new piece of information.

“Do you mean to tell me that the transporter was functioning completely normally when they were beamed aboard?”

“That’s the thing, Mr. Spock, sir. Nobody’s been beamed to the ship recently at all!”

You see the look on Spock’s face and bite back the urge to echo him again.

“Fascinating,” he says.

“Yes, this is all very interesting, but not what we came here for. As long as the transporter is working, we can continue our task.”

Chekov looks apprehensive (or is that just his regular face?) and the group walks onto the transporter pad.

You're intensely curious and you walk over to the board with all the lights and buttons on it, seriously fighting the urge to flick a switch, at least.

"Energize."

You look up from the blinking board just in time to see the landing party disappearing in a shimmer of golden light.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the landing party returns, injured, and missing crew members. you freak out and try to find the doctor.d

You stare at the spot that they used to be for a full minute, transfixed. Scotty sees your awed expression and smiles. "D'you remember coming on board like that?"  
"Like what? In a shimmering beam of golden glitter? No, I think I would remember that."  
He grins again and speaks into his communicator. “Captain Kirk? No troubles, I trust?”  
“No, Scotty, the transporter beam seems to be fully functional. We’ve all arrived on the planet’s surface; I’ll keep you posted. Kirk out.”  
“So… what now?” you ask.  
“Now you’re going to tell me how the devil you appeared on my ship without the aid of a transporter beam. It just doesn’t make sense!”  
“I’m sure that Mr. Spock would say it’s illogical.”  
“Well, yes. Yes, that it is.” His eyebrows furrow together a bit. “Funny you should say that…”  
“Why?”  
He pauses for a moment, probably not wanting to speak ill of a member of the crew, but, apparently deeming it necessary, he continues.  
“Well, lately, Mr. Spock has been acting illogical himself! I just don’t understand it. First him, then you… you have to admit, it’s odd.”  
“Yeah, that is odd. Um, when did Spock start acting weirdly?”  
He starts to speak again, but his sentence is interrupted by a panicked voice over the com.  
"Meester Scott, the members of ze landing party have been attacked--"  
There is a scuffling sound, and Kirk shouts gruffly into Chekov’s communicator: "Beam us up, Scotty!"  
Alarmed, Scotty elbows you out of the way, and soon the landing party reappears with more golden light effects.  
Two of the figures are not standing up.  
One is missing.  
"Oh my god--"  
"Mr. Spock!"  
“--happened so fast--”  
"unnnngh..."  
"The knife.... it just flew out of nowhere--"  
“No, Scotty, I’m all right--”  
"What happened to--"  
"--caught us off guard--"  
The captain's voice rises above the clamor of the others':  
"Get McCoy!"  
Through the small clump of people surrounding him, you can see Spock lying on the floor, next to a dead redshirt, with one limp hand half-clasping something on the front of his uniform, which was soaked with a greenish liquid that was steadily seeping from where a knife was buried almost to its hilt.  
 _Get McCoy._  
No one notices as you dash out of the room.

You burst into sickbay, panting from your crazed sprint, and you bump into a blue.  
“Bones! Sp-”  
You look up and meet the stern gaze of Nurse Chapel, who you just caused to spill a tray of delicate hypodermic needles. Oops. Wrong doctor.  
"Doctor McCoy is working in the lab at the moment. Is there something I can do?"  
"Um. No. I need to speak to McCoy. Sorry about the spilled stuff. Thanks, Nurse!"  
"But--"  
You don't hear the rest of her protest as you tear around corners to find the doctor.  
He apparently didn’t notice the kerfuffle. He sits calmly at a table, peering into a microscope.  
“Come with me. Now.”  
He looks up and recognizes you. “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be in your--”  
“Spock is hurt.”  
He stands up abruptly, knocking over the equipment, and heads out the door without another word to you.  
The nurse enters the room as the doctor leaves. She’s carrying a tray of now-broken equipment.  
“Who are you, what are you doing here, and where is the doctor?”  
“Spock is hurt.”  
Her soft blue eyes widen in fear, and she follows McCoy’s hurried route out the door, dropping the tray again as she goes.  
 _Shit. Way to go, genius._  
You’d forgotten that Chapel didn’t view Spock as just another crewmember, and now there was likely going to be a very awkward situation very soon. You decide to sit and wait for the party to come to you.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things get dramatic in sickbay.

Several minutes later, what’s left of the landing party (plus two distressed science officers) come bursting into sickbay, where you’ve been anxiously waiting. You dont really want any of them to notice you, so you stay quiet, but slowly walk toward to the table where they’ve lain spock. His usually emotionless mask of a face is contorted with pain. He keeps doing these little spasm things, like he’s trying to curl up around his wound, but you doubt that he can move enough to accomplish that, plus, he’s probably just hurting himself more. Your suspicions are confirmed when a fresh gush of the green ichor spills over the table’s edge, staining the medically sterile white tiles that you (and half the crew) are standing on. Bones doesn’t seem alarmed by the blood at all, but rather alarmed at the body that the blood was lost from. You’re no doctor, but you can tell that he’s taking longer than he should to look over Spock’s injuries. Taking extra care...

He suddenly notices the large number of people that are all crowding around the cot, each one trying to assess the damage with his or her own unprofessional eyes.

Doctor McCoy does not have time for this.

“Out! I’m performing a surgery; all unnecessary crewmembers should return to their regularly scheduled duties.”

They all look up at him.

“Now!”

Casting fearful glances at Spock’s now immobile form, they leave one by one.

“Even you, captain. You have a ship to run.”

“Bones--”

“Maybe the planet has a higher military capability than you’ve seen. You need to be on the bridge in case they attack while we’re in orbit,” you chime in.

Kirk stares at you in surprise.

“Jim,” McCoy says firmly, “You have to lead by example.”

The captain takes the doctor’s orders, and leaves as well.

Bones then turns to you, and you mentally ready an arsenal of very reasonable reasons why you should be allowed to stay. As it turns out, this is not necessary.

“Thanks. Just don’t get in the way.”

You assume a ridiculously exaggerated military posture. “Yes sir!”

He’s far too concerned to crack a smile, so you just slink back into a chair in the corner as he prepares to work.

You try to catch a glimpse of the monitor above Spock’s bed, but your vision is partially blocked by a wall and Nurse Chapel as she rushes around to assist McCoy.

You shift in your seat, and try to gauge how much time has passed.

_It shouldn’t be taking this long._

You’ve heard unsettling words like “shrapnel”, “splinter” and “punctured” being thrown about for the past few minutes, but the coup de grace was yet to come:

“Poison.”

You snap to attention and listen carefully to the pair of science officers.

“...Poisoned, Doctor?”

“That damned weapon must’ve been poisoned. I should’ve caught it earlier; it’s harder to tell with this blood of his.”

“Doctor, his heart rate… that can’t be normal, even for a Vulcan.”

Bones looks up gravely. “It’s not.”

The nurse’s shining blue eyes widen in fear, then narrow with determination.

“Spock is not going to die.”

“Not while I’m still breathin’, he’s not.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the results of the surgery cause tension between the doctor and the nurse

  


“Hey. That can’t be comfortable-- or sanitary.”

“What?” you reply groggily. You try to sit up, and hit your head.

Oh.

_Ow._

In your effort to not miss anything, you seem to have fallen asleep under your hidden chair in the corner.

Bones moves the chair away from you, and before you can protest, he scoops you up in his arms and sets you down on the hospital bed farthest from Spock.

"How is he? Spock, I mean. Is he okay?"

"No, he isn’t. With any luck, he will be, but he--” the doctor breaks off to take a shuddering breath “--he’s in a lot of pain, and I can’t do anything about it.”

“Can’t he do that Vulcan “pain is of the mind” thingie and control it?”

“I’m not even going to ask how you know that, and no, he’d have to be conscious to do that. Which he’s not.”

“I’m sorry,” you say, and instantly wish you hadn’t.

“Sorry?” he asks harshly. “You’re sorry? Why? It’s not you that missed the poison; not your fault he’s in agony; not your responsibility if he dies,” he continues, voice breaking on the last word.

You have no response to this. The doctor’s face is contorted in pain, just as Spock’s was.

After a minute, he composes himself, and says gruffly, “I better check your head again. You seem to be a magnet for cranial injuries.”

You comply, mostly because your vision is starting to go all wobbly again. You feel so off, in fact, that you think that the quiet, ragged voice is just your imagination.

“ _Doctor_ ,” it says, softer than a whisper.

You think it’s just your imagination, that is, until Bones hears it too:

“ _McCoy_.”

You both freeze and wait for him to speak again.

Silence.

Bones walks over to Spock’s bedside and breathes a sigh of relief. “The vitals have stabilised,” he says, turning to you with a smile. “The poison’s worked its way out of his system. He’s going to be all right.”

Spock does actually look a lot better, and he seems to be sleeping peacefully. McCoy’s skill is undeniable.

Speaking of the doctor, he looks a lot better too. Despite the bags under his eyes (did he stay awake to care for Spock the entire time?), his beaming expression almost literally brightens the whole room. It certainly brightens his whole face.

“I should probably go tell Christine. She was… rather concerned about Mr. Spock’s well-being,” he muses, smile fading. “Also… didn’t you just hit your head again? You really oughta sit down!”

You calmly meet his gaze, and he just sighs and gets up to go tell Ms. Chapel the happy news of Spock’s current condition.

Just as he’s about to leave, the doors slide open and the nurse walks in. You notice that her eyes are a little red around the rims, and, despite her usually perfect complexion, her face is a bit puffy, as though she’d been crying the previous night.

“Doctor? How--”

“He’s alive. Don’t fret, Spock will be better before long.”

“Oh, thank god,” she says, and then goes over to check for herself.

Bones turns back to his table, but not before you see him roll his eyes.

You turn back to see the nurse checking the monitors with a smile, then kneeling next to Spock’s cot. She inhales and exhales slowly and deliberately, steadying herself. She takes one of Spock’s unresponsive hands in both of hers, and you notice how gentle the gesture is.

Unfortunately, Bones seems to have seen this too, because the instruments fall from his hands onto the table with a delicate clatter. His hands ball into fists, then unclench, and he stands up suddenly.

Before he can say (or do) anything, you quickly ask, “Doctor, am I all set to leave, or what?”

He whirls around to face you, and slowly, the jealous blaze fades from his eyes. “I think that you can probably go, so long as you don’t hurt yourself any more.”

“Okay, I’ll be going, then. You take care of yourself too, doctor,” you say, tilting your head towards Spock and Chapel.

He grimaces. “You got it.”

“Goodbye, Nurse.”

She doesn’t looks up from Spock, but there is genuine warmth in her voice as she bids you farewell.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you accidentally piss off the doctor

The doors open automatically as you approach them and you walk through quickly, hoping to avoid the awkward situation that would certainly ensue in sickbay. You pause for a moment outside the doors, trying to remember through your slightly concussed stupor which way you needed to go in order to get food, when the doors suddenly open behind you and McCoy storms out in a fit of thinly veiled jealousy.

“Hello, Doctor.”

He turns around in surprise, apparently having forgotten that you were there. “Hello, um, do you need anything?”

“Yes, actually. Could you point me in the direction of a cafeteria, or something? I know you guys have to eat sometime… Right, Doctor?

“You can call me McCoy, if you like. And I’ll walk you. I was just heading that way myself.”

“No you weren’t,” you say. “You just needed a reason to get out of there.”

McCoy feigns surprise (rather well, you think, but you still know what’s up) at this accusation. “Now why would I just leave a recovering patient on a whim? As you said, I have to eat sometime, and that sometime is now.”

“Don’t be coy, McCoy. I’m truly not as stupid as I look.”

His shoulders tense defensively. “Could’ve fooled me.”

You walk in silence for a couple more paces, then he sighs.

“Look, I’m sorry, that was outta line.”

“Oh, it’s quite all right, Doctor. You haven’t had any sleep, since you stayed up all night looking after Mr. Spock, and I’m sure it was a tricky operation…” You trail off, unsure whether you should continue.

He chuckles dryly. “You’re telling me. It would have been difficult saving a _human_ in that condition, let alone _Spock-_ -”

You interrupt, deciding to complete your thought from before: “...and also I understand that people get catty and impatient when they’re worried about someone they love.”

He stop walking abruptly. You slow your stride a bit, but you know he'll catch up.

After a few seconds, the quick clicking patter of boots running on linoleum (or whatever the hell this floor is) grows louder next to you and the doctor grabs your shoulders and roughly turns you so you're facing him directly.

"What did you just say?" His eyes are nearly wild, and he emphasizes every syllable through gritted teeth. You try to meet his piercing blue gaze, but you have to look away.

Maybe baiting him like that was not the brightest idea.

_Oh, you think?_

Despite the fact that you really think that his feelings probably need to be addressed, you also really think that he's probably starting to bruise your arms. You decide to drop the subject, at least for now.

"Come on, calm down. Don't hurt the cripple in your care, Doctor, or have you gone completely mad?"

He searches your face for any hint of mockery, then lets go.

"I'm sorry, I-- I don't know what came over me. Perhaps I just need some sleep."

"Yes, sleep is good," you say, "but food is also kind of necessary...."

"All right, let's go get somethin' to eat. Then we'll talk."


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> space sandwich and crew gossip

"....a sandwich."

"What?"

"This is a sandwich."

"Well of course it is, what's you expect?"

"Um," you answer, holding the sandwich up to a light and inspecting it suspiciously, "I dunno. Space food?"

McCoy raises an eyebrow. "Well, I don' know what kinda 'space food' you've been eating over  on... wherever you're from, but here on the Enterprise, we eat Earth food."

The mention of your home planet suddenly brings to your attention the fact that you're floating through space right at this very moment. You have to put down your sandwich (which is actually pretty decent) and place your head in your hands until the floor underneath you feels solid again.

"Oh. Did I, uh, say something wrong?"

You look up at the doctor, and reply, "No... did I?"

He looks confused. “All you’ve said was ‘space food’. You’ve not said anything offensive, ‘least not to me--”

“I was asking if I’d said something wrong before, while we were walking,” you interrupt. Deciding to play innocent, you add: “You reacted rather violently, but I can’t think of anything I said that might have upset you that much... Doctor?”

He closes his eyes and puts his face in his hands, like you had done a few moments ago, but he seems more defeated than angry. You say it again, more gently.

“Doctor?”

He looks up and takes a deep breath. “I don’ know why I trust you, but I do, so I am gonna ask you this: how the hell didya know?”

Now it’s your turn to be confused. “How’d I know what?”

He holds your gaze, unblinking. “Please don’t make me say it.”

You sit silently for a moment, like a deer caught in bright azure headlights, but then it clicks.

“Oh. How did I know about you... and Spock?”

“Shhh!” His eyes dart around the room nervously. “Keep your voice down, would you?”

“Sorry!” you whisper.

He leans in closer. “And just to clarify, there is no ‘me and Spock’,” he says (rather wistfully, you think).

The pair of you eat in silence for a minute, then he asks, “How did you know?”

“Well, it’sh obvioush, innit?” you reply, through a mouthful of space sandwich. McCoy’s eyes widen in alarm, so you quickly add, “Only to me, though, ‘cause I’m an outsider.”

He leans back in his chair. “Hmph” he scoffs. “‘Outsider’. Seems to me that you know half the crew better’n we know ourselves!”

_Oh, you have no idea._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah I'm totally still doing the short chapter thing sorry guys I'm a drama queen


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you talk to spock.

After you’ve eaten, Bones escorts you back to your quarters. You walk in silence, as he refuses to discuss anything with you anymore. It seems you’ve already alienated the only friend you made on the Enterprise.

You thank him politely after he drops you off at your room, but as soon as he’s disappeared down the hallway, you slip out in the other direction. Bones is probably going to talk with Kirk about what their next move will be on the planet below, which gives you ample time to go and talk to the doctor’s favorite incapacitated Vulcan.

The doors automatically swoosh apart as you approach sickbay. You wince, as you were hoping for a more stealthy entrance, but when you poke your head in the room, no one is there to notice you.

“Who’s there?” a weak voice inquires.

Well, no one except Spock, anyway.

“It’s me.”

Spock tries to raise his head to see you, but he is unable to, and flops back down in defeat.

"To just assume that I would know who 'me' is, is not logical."

You smile and walk over to his bed. "Glad to hear that you're back to your old self again."

He raises an eyebrow. "And how would you know what my 'old self' was like? Did you not just recently arrive on this ship?"

You've slipped again. "Oh, yeah... Um. Doctor McCoy was just telling me about you."

Something flickers in his eyes, behind his disdainful façade. "Oh?"

"Well, about all the crewmembers, really, not just you," you lie, wanting to see his reaction.

The little expression he had revealed drained from his face. "Oh."

"Doesn't that wound hurt?" you ask, attempting to change the subject. You don't need another science officer peeved with you.

"No," he answers, "as a Vulcan, I am able to control the impulses that my nerves send to my brain. Pain is a thing of the mind, like emotion. As all Vulcans are trained in controlling aspects of the mind, it logically follows that they can also control feelings of pain."

Before you can stop yourself, you blurt out, "But you're half human. Wouldn't that affect your ability to control..." Seeing the look on his face, you trail off into silence.

"I see that Doctor McCoy has informed you of that as well. He seems to find enjoyment in reminding me of my mixed heritage. No, I can control both my pain, and my human blood."

His words seem to be layered with double meaning, and he sounds like he's trying to convince himself as much as you.

You try to change the subject again.

"Speaking of Bones, did you know that he stayed up the entire time you were unconscious, just to make sure you were okay?"

You think again that you see his face light up for a fraction of a second before quickly composing himself.

"That is logical, as losing the first officer of a starship would severely impair the ship's ability to function efficiently. Even so, the nurse showed me the records; the doctor should have realised that the weapon was poisoned, as there were, in fact, clear signs that I was not suffering from any ordinary stab wound."

He seems pretty quick to condemn McCoy's actions. In fact, it seems like he’s deliberately being difficult, so you decide to drop another hint.

"I think that the doctor, upon seeing you in such a state, was... how would you say it? He was emotionally compromised, and he initially overlooked these ‘small signs’ as a result."

This has the opposite effect of what you intended. "Then Doctor McCoy performed his duties less than admirably, and I shall talk to the captain about his misdemeanor. One must keep a level head in emergencies--"

You've had it with the logic, but you surprise yourself when you say, "Oh, shut up!" to the first officer of the vessel.

Spock seems surprised too, so he actually does as he's told and just lies there in slightly stunned silence.

"Doctor McCoy _saved your life_. He stayed up for like fifty hours straight in order to make sure you were comfortable and still breathing. Don't you feel grateful? At all?"

Spock looks at you coldly. “All Doctor McCoy did was his duty to the captain and crew of the Enterprise, just like everybody else. I am not especially inclined to feel any excessive gratitude towards the doctor in this particular instance, nor should you expect me to.”

At this point you’re about ready to smack him, but just then the nurse comes in.

“I think that perhaps Spock has had enough socializing for right now; you should let him rest.”

You stand up straight and throw one last glare at the Vulcan, who stares back with cool condescension.

“I was just leaving,” you retort, then you march out of the room with a huff.


	13. Chapter 13

After poking around your room for a bit, you decide to go to sleep. No pajamas are to be found, however, so you just plop down and pull the blanket over your face. The lights go off (woah. cool.) and you soon fall into an uneasy slumber.

_Where's Chekov?_  
You suddenly sit upright in your bed, just now recalling that there were missing members of the landing party. Suddenly thankful that pajamas weren't an option, you stumble out of your room in search of the captain and co.

You're not sure what time it's supposed to be, but everyone seems to be awake, because they're all on the bridge. Even Spock, much to your surprise, is up and well at his station.   
Turning around in his chair, Kirk says, "Ah, here's our guest."  
"Chekov is still down on that planet!" you declare loudly, "and you aren't doing anything!"  
"Quite the opposite, actually," replies Spock. "Although the captain (quite illogically, I might add) delayed a rescue party in order to await my recovery, we've just sent word to Starfleet command about the possibly hostile civilization on the planet below, and are going to beam down presently."  
"Oh," you say, mollified. "Alright then."  
Kirk gets out of the captain's chair. "As he said, we have a rescue operation to perform. Sulu, maintain standard orbit. Scotty, take the con. Uhura, tell Doctor McCoy to report to the transporter room immediately. Spock, with me.”   
You are the only one without captain's orders to follow, so you decide to follow your own orders. You wait for the elevator to come back up, then you stealthily run to the transporter room.

By the time you reach the transporter room (jeez, you’d think a ship this big would have more than one elevator) the triumvirate had just disappeared in a golden shimmer.  
“Damn it!”  
The redshirt operating the control board looks up from the buttons. “Are you authorized to be down here?”  
His tone doesn’t fool you; you can tell that he’s not actually sure himself. You aren’t going to be intimidated by this guy.  
“No authorization is needed, access isn’t restricted or anything. In case you didn’t know, I was recently injured, and I’ve been cleared to wander around the ship, as I’m not up for any kind of work.” Or qualified for any kind of work, you think, but you keep that last bit to yourself.  
“Oh, all right. Apologies. Carry on then.” Your authoritative tone seems to have made him more inclined to listen to you. Ha. Wuss.  
“Did they just beam down to the planet where Mr. Spock was injured?”  
“Yes, they did.”  
“Why?”  
“Well, it’s a rescue mission, so--”  
“No, I meant why them? Shouldn’t you have sent more people?”  
His condescending tone returns. “Additional backup will be sent as needed. The captain chose who would beam down initially, so if you’d like to question the decision, you can take it up with him. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”  
He returns his gaze to the control board and tries to look busy.  
 _Hmph. Jerk._


	14. Chapter 14

You have become bored with baiting the redshirt in the transporter room, so you decide to return to sickbay to say hi to your good friend Bones. After briefly getting lost and almost accidentally walking into the captain’s chambers, you find the correct door and enter.

“Hello?”

No one answers, so you let yourself in.

It really is a pretty neat setup. You inspect the equipment with great care, pretending that you know what the hell you’re looking at.

Suddenly you hear the doors swoosh open. You dive into a side room and try to hide behind a file cabinet. Conveniently enough, there is a person-sized space between two columns, so you duck between them.

Hang on…

One of the drawers has not been closed properly. One of the doctors was probably looking through someone’s file. Maybe it was yours! Do you have a file yet? Time to find out.

You quietly shuffle around the papers, trying to get a good look at the words, when a phrase jumps out at you.

... _pon farr_ …

Ooh. This is interesting.

The file is Spock's.

You are suddenly not bored anymore.

Tearing through the papers, you wonder why the records are on paper in the first place. This curiosity quickly becomes irrelevant in light of what you just stumbled upon in the file.

Doing the math in your head confirms it.

It has been seven (Earth) years since the last time Spock had gone through the Vulcan ‘time of mating’.

You wonder if this is why you were brought here. Not to mate with Spock, of course, but to help save Spock while simultaneously aiding the doctor in realizing his most secret dreams.

You are now on a mission of your own.


End file.
